Chapter 3 Earning Money to Support the Family "Hmm? Are your hands cold?" ...
"Hmm? Are your hands cold?"
Mephiel saw Attia's hand move slightly; it was a cool, white jade color, with distinct knuckles, and was very beautiful.
He found a reason for himself and, with both the desire and the courage, grasped that hand. He noticed that the fingers were a little cold, so he tucked them deeper into the blankets and even tucked the blankets in a little more considerately.
The silver-haired female insect's hands are not very soft, but her ten fingers are slender and beautiful, with distinct and resilient knuckles, and there are thin calluses on her palms.
In conclusion: I haven't had enough, I want more, hehe...
However, in contrast to Murphy's happiness was Attiya's astonishment.
How is that possible?
Atiyah's eyes widened slightly for a moment, his emotions unusually revealed. His breathing suddenly became heavy, and his hands, which were tightly pressed under the blanket, were so weak that he couldn't even move his fingertips.
The second time, the energy simply vanished into thin air before they could even conjure an air blast.
The first time he thought it was just a coincidence, but what about the second time? After contact with Morpheus, the power that overflowed from the shattered insect core would disappear, as if it had encountered some kind of barrier. Could it be that this male insect has a countermeasure against the female insect's power?
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
In Murphy's eyes, the silver-haired female insect suddenly seemed to have lost all her strength, her breathing was heavy, and her face was almost transparently white, which was very strange.
At the same time, Murphy felt his mental energy being touched for a moment, though he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.
His spiritual power was innate, unlike that of his other colleagues in the Quick Transmigration Department. Perhaps his original world was also a place with magical power, although he had never been there.
Murphy decisively pressed the call button by the bedside.
Murphy was asked to leave the ward.
This doctor seemed to know something, as his attitude towards him was respectful yet perfunctory. However, in this Zerg society, F-rank male Zerglings indeed held little status.
Compared to higher-ranking males, they are not as good at using pheromones to soothe females. F-rank pheromones are as bland as plain water and have almost no soothing effect on females. Compared to lower-ranking females, they are not as practical. They often act like males and are bossy. Their catchphrase is "I'm going to report you to the male insect protection association...". It is obvious that they are not popular.
Especially now, he might still be burdened with the stigma of being a domestic abuser, the kind who wouldn't even let go even in the hospital ward.
But! He's innocent! Aside from feeding her water, he really only held his wife's hand. They're a married couple; it's only natural for them to be affectionate! Could it be that his expression was too inappropriate? No, he deliberately controlled his expression.
Sigh... Murphy sighed deeply. Raising a wife is much harder than causing trouble.
He didn't wait long before gazing at the sky at a 45-degree angle, lost in thought.
"Ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong—"
The computer's notification sound rang several times in a row.
"Where are you? Aren't you coming?" The message was from his roommate, who came from a good family and was a D-level. Although he was a bit of a womanizer, he wasn't a bad person.
"What?" Murphy rummaged through his fragmented memories but couldn't find anything relevant.
"Isn't today the social dance you've been looking forward to the most? Lots of beautiful sub-females came from the art school next door, and your favorite actress, Lillian, is here too."
It was someone the original owner liked, but he wasn't the original owner.
"I had to decline, I'm married," Murphy typed in response.
"???" The other end sent several question marks in succession. "We haven't seen each other for a day, are you kidding me?"
"And at your level, was that insect acting voluntarily?"
“Never mind that.” Murphy was hit where it hurt.
"Fine, if you don't want to come, you don't have to. You have to admit, Lillian is quite pretty. If you won't ask me out, I will. By the way, are you free in three days? Could you cover my class for a day? I have to go out for a bit."
"No time..." Before Murphy's words could even be sent, a message popped up on the other end—
"Substitute teaching fee: 1000 Star Coins."
"Time, location." Murphy immediately changed his mind. He was so poor that he had to split every star coin in half. He could earn 1,000 star coins a day by teaching, so how could he miss such a good part-time job?
"That classroom is in a rather remote area. I've sent you the location. Remember to go early; that professor is really a freak."
Murphy wholeheartedly agreed. Who would have thought that in interstellar space, with the Zerg, attendance would still be taken in class? But those 1000 star coins were really easy to earn.
After squatting for a while, Murphy's legs went numb. He felt that this hospital was really inhumane; there wasn't even a chair in the waiting area of the corridor.
Murphy held on a little longer, and finally the ward door opened, and the doctor came out.
"How is he? Is it serious?" Murphy immediately stood up and asked.
"!" The doctor was startled by his sudden appearance and paused for a moment before replying, "His mental domain is already in poor condition and at risk of going out of control. He must have been stimulated by something just now, and his worm core suddenly showed signs of cracking. It would be best if he could be hospitalized for a week for observation."
"Of course, if you want him to go home for conservative treatment, that's fine too." Most male insects would choose that option, and I wouldn't come anyway. For a male insect, if a sickly female insect dies, she dies; hospitalization is just a waste of money.
Without a second thought, Murphy rejected conservative treatment, saying, "Let's go to the hospital."
“If you’re going home, all you need to do is sign some papers…” the doctor replied instinctively, before realizing that Murphy had meant hospitalization.
He confirmed again, "Are you sure you want to be hospitalized?"
Murphy nodded. "Of course."
The doctor was somewhat dazed. Could there really be male insects willing to waste money on females? Perhaps they were just close brothers.
Murphy asked about the procedures, then asked another question he was concerned about: "Is there any way to restore his eyesight?"
Putting everything else aside, he's so handsome, it's such a pity his wife can't see him.
The doctor heard another unexpected question.
Honestly, he'd seen plenty of female insects in this situation, just out of control and waiting to die. He never expected that an insect would be willing to save her, even caring about the smallest details. Could it be that male insects are this good to their brothers these days?
He looked at Murphy as if he were looking at a rare species, and finding that the male insect seemed serious, he thought for a moment about how to explain it in a simpler way.
"To be honest, it's very difficult. You know where the mental domain is, right? A chaotic mental domain is like a big ball of wire being twisted and turned in your brain. It could bump into this or that and cause all sorts of consequences. There's only one way to restore it: use pheromones to soothe it."
He spoke vaguely enough to avoid hurting the pride of the F-grade male insect in front of him. After all, his pheromones were completely useless, and without the corresponding mid- to high-grade pheromones, the female insect inside wouldn't live long either, so there was no need to worry about eye problems.
Murphy: ...To put it so euphemistically, it just means we need males.
No wonder those male insects were so arrogant, no wonder there was such a strict hierarchy between male and female insects. It's a real-life version of "Your life is in my hands, try disobeying me and you'll die."
However, he really wanted to try this one-sided class antagonism; with a little manipulation, it could easily turn into complete chaos.
Before leaving, the doctor tactfully suggested that Murphy come back tomorrow, as the parasite needed rest, implying that he should avoid disturbing it.
Murphy just wanted to cry out that he was innocent.
Murphy reluctantly packed his things, stood at the door of the ward, and peeked inside through the small window in the door.
Under the influence of sedatives, painkillers, and calming devices, the beautiful silver-haired female insect had fallen into a deep sleep. Her eyes were closed, her brows were slightly furrowed, and she seemed uneasy. Her long, slightly curly silver-white hair was spread on the pillow like seaweed floating on the water, without anything to hold onto, and could only drift with the current.
Like him.
Murphy clicked his tongue, thinking to himself, "System, but you sent me a wife first. Being in a good position makes it easy to get what you want, so you can't blame me."
Suddenly, as if sensing something, he looked towards one end of the corridor, where a shadowy insect disappeared around the corner.
...
"Have they left?" The large female insect turned her head slightly.
"Are you stupid? Still looking?" The thin female insect walked calmly and composedly, but upon hearing this, she couldn't help but slap him on the back of the head.
"If you hadn't been peeking around, would we have been discovered?"
"How was I supposed to know that a low-level male insect would be so perceptive?" the large female insect muttered, sounding somewhat aggrieved.
"It is a bit strange," the thin female insect said thoughtfully, "but it could also be a coincidence."
"Shall we still go see the Legion Commander's worm today?"
The thin female insect was speechless. "...Sometimes I really wonder how you got into the Dawn Legion. Didn't you hear the doctor say that the Legion Commander was resting? We'll come back tomorrow to observe the situation."
"By the way, did you get what I asked you to buy?"
"I went to several black markets, but they all just told me to wait. High-grade male insect pheromones are too hard to obtain; they only have some low- to mid-grade ones."
"Then let's prepare some intermediate-level ones first."
"yes."
...
Murphy withdrew his gaze and did not go forward to investigate, but he still planned to let his wife return home to recuperate as soon as her condition stabilized. The hospital was a mixed bag, and he might not be able to take good care of her.
Another reason is that he's a fake male insect, with no pheromones at all, and he's too conspicuous wandering around in places like hospitals every day.
Murphy stroked his chin. Pheromones, oh pheromones, it seems this is the key to everything.
##
Three days later.
Murphy arrives at the Male Insect Academy and begins his first step in earning money to support his wife.
Defeat.
Because he got lost.
The academy was ridiculously large, with countless garden paths. After getting dizzy from wandering around, he decided to give up and let the butler robot bug by the roadside lead the way.
The male insect academy, though called an academy, is actually a large activity center, somewhat like a university, but much more relaxed. The academy requires male insects to study specific major courses and any elective courses they choose based on their interests. They can organize their own activities in the rest of the time. The total class time is less than 1/10 of their leisure time.
The class he was taking was an elective course chosen by his roommate, called "The Mysteries of Insect Bodies." His roommate's reason for choosing him was very simple—the course title was too suggestive, and maybe learning it would improve his bowel movement skills.
However, to my surprise, the course, as its name suggests, really was about insects, from the smallest details like bones and blood vessels to the evolution of wings. In short, as my roommate put it, it was a hypnotic course. As long as he sat in that classroom, he could fall asleep in less than a second, which was a complete waste of his life.
However, the instructor for this class is an old, high-ranking male insect who loves academics. To emphasize, he is a high-ranking male insect. Simply put, it's not good to skip class, or you'll get a beating from his antique ruler.
Yes, that's definitely a very antique.
Murphy, on the other hand, thought the course was quite suitable for him. With the plot in his mind that was so brief that it didn't even qualify as an outline, he couldn't find the location for any trouble he wanted to cause.
He looked at the various courses the original owner had taken on the personal terminal, which were all so-called elegant courses such as wine tasting, film appreciation, and ballroom etiquette. Those were completely useless.
"Huh?" A male insect with bright golden hair and a slightly flamboyant style of dress suddenly stopped next to Murphy.
"Hey beautiful lady, why are you standing here all alone? How about having some tea and a chat with me?" A flirtatious voice rang out.
Murphy thought they were talking about some other insect and didn't even turn his head.
Seeing that he ignored him, the blond male insect slid to the side and stood in front of Morfield, snapping his fingers confidently. "The pretty insect is so aloof. Is this your first time here? Who are you looking for? To be honest, there isn't a single male insect in this insect academy that I don't know."
"?" Murphy was shocked to find him standing in front of him. He looked around in surprise and found that there really was no other insect.
His speech was flippant, and his eyesight was poor; Murphy felt he couldn't trust him. "No," Murphy said, directly activating a butler-like robotic insect beside him and sending him to his destination.
The blond male insect stretched its neck and peered out, completely oblivious to being a stranger. "Hey? We're going the same way, let's go together. Maybe I'll even know your male insect."
Provoked repeatedly, Murphy smiled and clenched his fist, "...If you don't want your eyes, donate them to insects in need."
Upon hearing this, the blond male insect looked surprised. "You actually know the lines from my movie? You really do know me. You didn't sneak in to see me, did you?"
Tsk tsk tsk, the blond male insect became more and more smug, his nose twitching high. His charm was truly irresistible. He guessed that another fan who had seen his movies had secretly come to the academy, and even knew that he had chosen Professor La Belle's course, so he deliberately waited on this inevitable path, and even knew how to play hard to get.
"Don't be shy, I'll treat you to tea and even give you an autographed photo. How about it? Aren't you tempted?"
The blond male insect used one hand to support the butler robot insect to prevent it from moving, and with the other hand, it flicked its hair and used its invincible electric eyes.
"..."
"Would you mind answering one of my questions?"
Instead of getting angry, Murphy laughed, "Did you have dark circles under your eyes in that show?"
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